Believe in the Ghost

"The Maine-grown, foot-stompin’ holler-folk quartet create the type of music for which festivals are made." - Boston Globe

"Robustly played, masterful amalgamation of bluegrass, folk, and gospel for the Millennial Generation... The Ghost of Paul Revere prove that superior roots music can come from anywhere." - No Depression

"We grew up listening to Radiohead and the Beatles and Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd," saysGriffin Sherry, guitarist/singer in The Ghost Of Paul Revere. "Everyone assumed we were abluegrass band because we were playing these traditional instruments, but we weren’twriting traditional music. We were just writing songs with the instruments we had."The result is a sound that the Portland, Maine-based band describes as "holler folk," notbecause it involves a lot of hollering, per se, but because it invokes the rich communaltradition of field hollers, with their call-and-response melodies, sing-along hooks, anddensely layered harmonies. That sense of musical camaraderie is essential to everythingThe Ghost of Paul Revere does, and nowhere is it more evident than their sophomorealbum, ''Monarch.'

The album builds on the success of the band's 2014 debut full-length, 'Believe,' and their2015 EP, 'Field Notes Vol. 1,' which was recorded primarily in a single day at Converse'sRubber Tracks studio in Boston. The session was part of a prize package presented by theiconic Newport Folk Festival, which had invited the band to perform at the storied RhodeIsland musical gathering earlier that year as part of a lineup featuring everyone fromJames Taylor and Jason Isbell to The Lone Bellow and Bela Fleck."The Monday before Newport we got a message saying to pack our bags and come ondown," remembers Sherry. "We hadn't played much outside of Maine or started opening forany big acts yet at that point, and it was a hugely inspiring moment."Word began to spread about the rowdy pickers from the north. The Boston Globe ravedthat they "create the type of music for which festivals are made," while No Depression saidthey "prove that superior roots music can come from anywhere," and Dispatch Magazinewrote that they possess not only "the chops, but the heart to reach their audience andleave an undeniable impression." Hitting listeners straight in the feelings has been theband's M.O. since its inception in 2011, and they've used their powerful stage show toconvert the masses at every stop along their long and winding journey, which has includedshared stages with artists like The Avett Brothers, The Travelin' McCourys, Brown Bird, TheRevivalists, the Infamous Stringdusters, and more. The band sold out Port City Music Hall,Stone Mountain Arts Center, and the Strand Theater multiple times, won Best In Maine atthe New England Music Awards, and capped off 2015 with an electrifying headlineperformance on New Year's Eve at Portland's State Theatre in front of 1,600 enrapturedfans.

When it came time to record, 'Monarch,' though, the band knew they wanted to push thesonic envelope beyond the live-in-the-studio setup that had guided their previous efforts."Every other record has just been the four of us in a room with microphones until we got atake we liked," explains Sherry. "We approached this one differently. It was the first timewe did a lot of arranging and writing in the studio. We decided we'd worry about learninghow to present the songs live after we'd recorded everything instead of the other wayaround.""It enabled us to get a lot more adventurous with our ideas," adds bassist/singer SeanMcCarthy. "We wanted to do something new and explore where we could take the soundwhile still staying true to who we are."The album opens with "Little Bird," a playful, infectious foot-stomper that blends blues andsoul and roots and perfectly reflects the communal, inviting nature of the band's music.

Banjo player Max Davis takes over the songwriting and lead vocal duties for "Avalanche," anemotional anthem featuring one of the album's most lush arrangements along with drivingdrums from special guest Tony McNaboe (Ray LaMontagne, Rustic Overtones), while "King'sRoad" finds the band expanding their sonic palette to include strings and electric guitar,and "Honey Please" channels 60's R&B and Motown through old-school folk instrumentation.

At the core of everything The Ghost of Paul Revere does, though, are their powerful, stop-you-dead-in-your-tracks harmonies. On songs like "Wild Child," "Welcome Home," and "Need

Somebody," the band conjures up whole worlds of shimmering sonic beauty in the blendingof their voices."The album follows this arc where it starts very bright-eyed and optimistic and then hits aturning point where it gets really dark," says Sherry, "like a relationship that startsbeautifully and then grows sour. As we started to build the record and expand the sound, ithad a place sonically and emotionally.”By the end of the record, the song cycle reveals that traveling through the darkness is infact a necessary step for positive growth. 'Monarch' closer "Chrysalides" evokes the imageryof metamorphosis, a transformation that represents rebirth and new beginnings."It's about what happens in that moment of metamorphosis and change," says Davis. "I wasinterested in combining different words into a new term that could capture that feeling, so'Chrysalides' is a play on chrysalis. This was one of the first times that I allowed myself tobite into and really take advantage of that space in the writing."If there's one takeaway from 'Monarch,' it's that change is inevitable. Lovers, families,friends, instruments, sounds; they all transform with time. The key to thriving andsurviving in a challenging world is to embrace those transformations, to accept them not asendings but as fresh starts. What comes next? Only time can tell. One thing's for sure,though: by opening their hearts and souls with such artistic grace and humility, The Ghostof Paul Revere have created a rich, rewarding, passionate community, one that they cancount on to join them for every step of the remarkable journey that lies ahead.

"Simply put, this band is one to see live... A gorgeous blend of bluegrass, folk and good old fashioned rock and roll... their performance takes on a boot-clacking brilliance that transforms each song into a full-on participatory event, sending an electric surge about the room that’s near impossible not to feel. Add to that a layered three part harmony coursing through each soulful song, and The Ghost of Paul Revere demonstrated they not only had the chops, but the heart to reach their audience and leave an undeniable impression as well. As the floorboards shook with each pounding stomp, one thing was certain: the band announced they had arrived, loud and clear." - Dispatch Magazine

"Simply put North is an album that shouldn't be missed. (It will) make even the most callous of individuals feel the unbridled joy of Holler-Folk." - Ear to the Ground Music

"(The Ghost of Paul Revere) stole the show. I was so impressed with them. Their harmonies, stomping percussion, and vocal power were stellar... their songs progressed from mellow to powerhouse... their harmonies are superb and their songs have power." - whatbreesees.com